In Darkness, Light
by Sheryl Nantus
Summary: Tony remembers three months in darkness…


In Darkness, Light

In Darkness, Light

Setting: 2008 Movieverse

Pairing: Tony/Pepper

Rating: PG-13 (note: sexual references)

Synopsis: Tony remembers three months in darkness…

It's past midnight when he struggles up from the workshop; cradling one arm close to his side as he walks past the fountain to the couch. The jeans are three stitches away from going to a charity auction; the dark gray t-shirt pulled tight over the glowing arc reactor in his chest.

"Tony?" He spins at the voice, his good hand flying up either to defend or attack, depending on whether he's in the suit or not.

She walks out of the darkness with a sad smile on her face, a pizza box in one hand and a first-aid kit in the other. "Down, boy."

Stark forces a weak grin onto his face as he collapses onto the cushions. "Shouldn't you be long gone, Pep?"

The redhead advances on him, her regular business suit long discarded in favor of a loose pair of jeans and a light blue blouse. "Jarvis told me you'd be coming home late. So I figured that the least I could do was make sure you didn't go to bed hungry."

His eyes narrow. "And?"

"And I already rescheduled your meetings for tomorrow so don't worry about waking up in time. For anything." Sitting down beside him she opens the box. "And it's still warm. Jarvis is very good at estimating your arrival time."

"Yum." Tony grabs a large slice with one hand, chomping down on it with obvious relish. Pulling it away from his mouth he grins at the long sliver of cheese stretching between the piece and his lips. "Ooh. Double cheese." One eyebrow rose. "Want to help?"

"No, I've eaten already." Placing the first aid kit on the table the woman begins to set out the bandages and ointments. "And the damage tonight is…"

"One banged up elbow. That's all." He lifts his right arm, showing the deep bruises that are creeping across the bare skin. "Just really sore. Really sore." The rest of the pizza slice disappears into his mouth. "You didn't have to stay, you know."

"And have you call me early in the morning to try and diagnose you from home? I think not." Her long slender fingers run up and over the bruise, gently stroking the battered skin. "Nothing broken?"

"Not yet." He mumbles between mouthfuls. "Really, Pep – go home. I appreciate you being here but it's not necessary."

"So you don't need me?" His head snaps around at the tone; the third slice of pizza dropping back into the box.

"I will always need you, Pepper Potts." Tony says quietly, putting his hand atop hers. "You have no idea."

She smiles in the dim light and begins to replace the bandages and ointments into the small plastic box, snapping it shut with practiced efficiency. "Will that be all, Mr. Stark?"

"Yes." His voice cracks suddenly, his tongue flicking out to wet dry lips. "Actually… no. Do you mind keeping me company for a few minutes?" He looks around the room and the darkness creeping in from outside; the full moon casting long stripes of light across the couple. "It was… it was a bit of a rough mission."

"Sure." The redhead moves slightly to the right. "Here, lie down for a few minutes."

"Thanks." Shifting his body to one side he stretches out along the couch, letting his head fall onto her lap. A low sigh escapes his lips as her right hand begins to run through his dark hair; the left hand discreetly resting on the arc reactor lighting up their particular part of the room.

They sit in silence for a few minutes, his injured arm stretched out along his body and his left hand covering hers where it sits on his chest. The shadows begin to stretch and move across the room; twisting around the new piano and the furniture.

"I thought about you when I was gone, you know. In the cave. In the darkness." The confession comes out of nowhere and startles Pepper out of a near-sleep.

Her fingers entwine in his, pressing down on the light blue circle. "Did you?"

In the darkness she can barely see his lips move. "It wasn't long after I… I fixed myself up. And decided that I was going to get us out of there."

"You and Yinsen." She had already heard this part of the story; the official and unofficial versions. SHIELD didn't have to know everything.

"Yep. Me and Yinsen." He shifts a bit, turning his head towards her stomach. "He said I was a man with everything and yet, nothing." His lips twitch. "That hurt."

Pepper nods. "I guess so."

His fingers tighten around hers. "That night I tried to think of who was important to me. Which woman I would dream of coming home to; what I would say to her and her to me." A soft sigh. "I couldn't think of any of their names, Pep. I couldn't remember a single woman I've slept with that made an impression on me."

He looked up to see her lips curl up into a sad smile. "If I said that I'm not surprised, would you fire me?"

"Maybe."

"Tony Stark, you've never been known for going for the… intellectual type." The redhead shrugs, rolling his head back and forth in her lap. "And especially the ones I had to show out the next morning. If they could count to twenty I was impressed."

"Ouch." He frowns. "That hurt." His left hand picks her hand up, curling around it in the dim light cast by the arc reactor. "But so true."

Tony moves their hands back and forth, twisting one way and then the other, watching as the slender fingers of his personal assistant disappear in his own calloused grip and then reappear as the moonlight reaches the couch.

"The only woman I could think of, the only image in my mind's eye that kept me company for all those months in the darkness, day and night, was you."

He feels her legs flex under his skull; tighten and shift almost imperceptibly under him. Her head falls forwards just enough for her loose hair to drop onto his face, the red strands caressing his skin.

"Me?" The exhaled words drift over him so lightly that he thinks for a second that he imagined them.

"You." He grins. "You were the only woman I wanted to come back to. And then when I saw you at the bottom of that ramp…" The entwined fingers spin yet again in the dim light. "Let's just say that there might have been a third thing after the cheeseburger and the press conference if things had gone differently."

"Well, I thought it was the second on your list." She whispers. "And I wasn't really looking forward to kicking another reporter out of your bed."

"You and me both. But that's not going to happen now." Tony lets out a loud and lengthy yawn, rolling back in her lap. "I think I'm going to fall asleep here."

"That's okay." Her head falls back, removing the silky curtain from his eyes. "I don't think I want to move much either. There's something to be said for rescheduling meetings."

A comfortable silence fills the room for a few minutes until Pepper suddenly jerks her head forward, eyes wide open.

"Tony, you didn't… I mean… at night?"

A leer comes from the supposedly-sleeping man curled up in her lap. "Maybe." His hand, still clutching hers, gets a light squeeze. "But a gentleman never tells."

The redhead presses her lips together tightly before responding. "Good. Because then you won't mind me telling you that I thought about you many nights while you were gone." A devilish smile appears on her face, eerily lit from underneath by the arc reactor. "I'll let you go to sleep with that image in your mind's eye."

He groans, releasing her hand to toss his good arm over his eyes. "Oh, Pep… not fair. So not fair." A pout appears on his face, swiftly replaced by the previous leer. "Want to share?"

"Good night, Tony."

"Good night, Pepper."


End file.
